“In just a little more than 3½ years since then, public debt has surged by $8 trillion while total official debt has risen by $9 trillion”

Wall Street Journal:

The Congressional Budget Office recently reported on the 2022 fiscal year, which ended Sept. 30:

Net outlays for interest on the public debt increased by $121 billion (or 29 percent), because higher inflation this year has resulted in large adjustments to the principal of inflation-protected securities and because interest rates rose, increasing the costs of securities issued during the fiscal year.
Such annual outlays will soon surpass the total amount the federal government spends on Medicaid. Ms. Litvan reports on the possibilities for reform:

On spending, lawmakers could seek bipartisan accord on a deal placing new spending caps on the programs under Congress’s discretion similar to the 2011 deal that ended the debt-ceiling showdown, Thune said… On entitlement program changes, Thune said Congress should weigh an increase in the Social Security retirement age. But he didn’t rule out a deal that might simply start the process of making key changes, pointing to a proposal… for a task force to examine what needs to be done.
“Even creating a process by which that gets dealt with would be progress and at least a baby step,” Thune said.
Let’s hope he doesn’t settle for baby steps. The senator should have the confidence to walk like a man after the events of recent weeks. Stephen Groves reported for the Associated Press this month from Sioux Falls: